How do public laws, treaties, Senate confirmations, and other legislative achievements help us to gain insight into how our governmental system performs?
This well-argued book edited by Scott Adler and John Lapinski is the first to assess our political institutions by looking at what the authors refer to as legislative accomplishment.... more...

The climate of partisanship and incivility in Congress has steadily worsened since the 1980s. Polarization between congressional factions now paralyzes the legislative process and hobbles democracy. more...

The story of the United States Senate is more than the description of the powers assigned to the upper house of Congress. This work shows how these powers are considerable, including the making of laws to govern the United States in partnership with the House of Representatives. more...

"This anthology offers a wonderful insight into the many interesting policies and people found within the world's greatest deliberative body. I salute Norm, James, Chris, and Max for creating a useful tool for students, policymakers, and citizens; and David Abshire's wisdom in inspiring this project." more...

Lance Banning was one of the most distinguished historians of his generation. His first book, The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology , was a groundbreaking study of the ideas and principles that influenced political conflict in the early American Republic. His revisionist masterpiece, The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison... more...

Barnett shows how political environments can produce legislators who place a premium on their policy-making goals through a nuanced exploration of factors undergirding member perceptions, policy ambitions, class cohesion, and legislative learning. more...

No matter how you voted in the 2010 election, both Democrats and Republicans can agree that there is one indispensable guide to people, politics, and power in Washington. The Almanac of American Politics is the gold standard—the book everyone involved, invested, or interested in American politics must have on their reference shelf. As in... more...

During the 2008 election season, politicians from both sides of the aisle promised to rid government of lobbyists? undue influence. For the authors of Lobbying and Policy Change , the most extensive study ever done on the topic, these promises ring hollow?not because politicians fail to keep them but because lobbies are far less influential than... more...

A generation ago, scholars saw interest groups as the single most important element in the American political system. Today, political scientists are more likely to see groups as a marginal influence compared to institutions such as Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary. Frank Baumgartner and Beth Leech show that scholars have veered from one... more...